I have been emotionally conditioned to think that success only comes with handwork. I think we all have. “You get what you earn,” “The early bird gets the worm,” and all those other mottos we’ve learned. Well.. somehow along the way of becoming an adult they F-cked me up. Real bad.
The more stressed you are and less relaxing you do – the more successful you can become.
It’s the biggest piece of phony bologna in the deli section.
And I’ve been trained to believe it all these years.
I’m calling it. Calling bullshit.
I refuse to stress anymore. Stress does not increase your chances of being successful. It only decreases your chances of being happy. Because a stressful life does not create a fulfilling life.
I refuse to spend countless hours pushing and hustling and exhausting myself only to feel pushed hustled and exhausted. It doesn’t work.
I refuse to think I need to put every single hour of my day aspiring to achieve because it will only make me feel less inspired and less joyful.
Living life that way does nothing….Except give me big ugly baggies under my eyes and one too many swipes of my credit card at the Wine and Liquor store down the road.
2017 is the year of change for me. And my work schedule and business life is no exception.
I am changing my lifestyle in order to create the best version of myself – So that I can be the best little original WIP Girl role model and mentor there is. And feeling happier and inspired in my life is my mission.
Life is meant to be beautiful. It is meant to be fun and adventurous and exciting. And lately, I’m realizing that success and stress are not synonymous. They aren’t required to go hand in hand. You can in fact be very successful and live stress-free.
The science of success, vs. the art of fulfillment. Sometimes you can have both.
I love my job. I love being a role model for women, sharing my stories and helping them change their lives. My coaching courses, e guides, and books (oh and the podcast…. oh and this blog. Oh and the community) Life is fucking great. And I love what I do.
But after some careful consideration, I decided it was time to really evaluate how I work… because I haven’t been taking care of myself.
And that makes me sad. So here’s what’s happening: I’m freeing my schedule up for some me-time. Good old fashion me time.
Success and stress are no longer the two S*words I’m living life by. My work ethic is changing. Some people may say that stress is expected when you are successful. I refuse to be one of those people who let it into my life. That is not why I became an entrepreneur and started this business. And it’s not what I teach either!
So I’m walking the walk. Changing my S*word. It’s about Service. And That’s what I’m focused on.
The other day I was deeply meditating and I woke up from my session with a powerful mantra:
“The more you give the more you receive.”
In my moment of deep meditation, something told me this would be my new life mission – to focus on serving, rather than being successful.
When you focus on serving and what you can give, you will receive so much back.
And if the more I give the more I receive is true, the same applies to my body.
“The more time I take caring for myself, the more I can give to the world.”
I need to be the best version of myself. So I can help other people be their best too.
So I completely restructured my work schedule. I took a hard look at the things I do each and every morning. I realized that from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed I am 100 percent wrapped up in my blog, my course, and my coaching.
And I’m burning myself out. There is little time for anything else when you are wrapped up in your biz 24-7.
So I decided it was time to really get clear about the things that make fulfilled:
What do I need to do every day to put myself in the best state possible so I can better serve others?
I made a decision. No working until 10 AM.
I made a checklist for myself and decided that in the mornings I am going to spend my time:
Reading
Journaling
Reflecting
Setting three solid intentions
Working out
Meditation
Taking a nice long bath, getting ready and starting my day.
These are the things I know will make me emotionally clear and focused on helping others. And the more I take care of myself, the better I can do that!
Just putting it out there.
The moral of the story is if you’re out there hustling to succeed – and you’re waiting to be happy and fulfilled in your life… I got news for ya – you’ll never see the day.
Enjoy life NOW. Later isn’t an option.
xoxox
-Lauren of Love